Dan Quayle on Technology

Vice President of the U.S., 1989-1993; Former Republican Senator (IN)

Get NASA out of doldrums & to Mars by 2019

Space exploration and research not only satisfy our pioneering spirit but also have important practical applications-especially in medicine. Bush stated that we had “more will than wallet”-but I still hoped that during his time in office we would be able
to bring the space program out of the doldrums.

I was convinced that the space program-not just manned exploration but every scientific and technological aspect of it-was vital to maintaining American leadership in the world. During the 1980s, I had
been concerned that our investment in defense was not being accompanied by a corresponding push for the space program.

[As Vice President, Quayle’s] Space Council envisaged an agenda for the next 20 years of manned space exploration. This included a
permanent base on the Moon, one that might even be used as a staging area for a trip to Mars. All of this was to be accomplished by the year 2019-the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing. What we had in mind might take $400 or $500 billion.

Urges Clinton to shield economy from possible Y2K crisis

Dan Quayle today called on President Clinton to take precautions now against possible disruptions of international currency markets that might be caused by the “Year 2000,” or Y2K, problem. “Even if our financial markets are the most Y2K compliant in the
world, a breakdown anywhere in this incredibly complex system may feed back to us in ways we cannot foresee or imagine. We need to think through what steps we can take right now to ensure the integrity of this system,” Quayle says.

Source: Press Release on Y2K Crisis
, Aug 23, 1999

Link dollar to gold as a Y2K shield

Quayle urged Clinton to consider a proposal to temporarily peg the US dollar to gold in order to stabilize currency markets [in the face of a Y2K crisis]. Quayle also suggested that Clinton submit the idea to Fed Chairman Greenspan for review. “You
should act on this proposal early enough to give the other governments of the world the opportunity to link into the system. No other country can provide this kind of currency umbrella to see us through a Y2K storm, should one occur,” Quayle concluded.